Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 030

Man-deuk was sent flying and slammed into the cosmetics corner. It seemed as if it had been bounced away by the man’s fist.

His heart started pounding, while his head went cold.

Ahhhh!

A piercing scream tore through the once peaceful department store. A man, his blood dripping at the entrance, stood silently, shocking the female VIP customers who witnessed it.

‘Stay calm. First, make a report!’

I quickly turned on Akashic Live and changed the broadcast category to ‘Disaster Situation’.

Goooo…!

‘Ugh!’

A faint crimson aura shot up from the drunkard’s body. The moment his bloodshot eyes stared at me, my breath caught, and I couldn’t take a step.

“All units… gather on the 1st floor.”

When I finally managed to squeeze out the order, the man contaminated with negative energy transformed into a complete monster.

Wrapped in a transparent violet sphere, he curl his body like a high fetus.

Shrill…

Thud. Thump!

Tree roots or tentacles, whatever they were, shot out from the sphere, piercing the floor, and dragged things down underground.

I couldn’t have anticipated the monster’s attack pattern.

[The Rift unfolds.]

[The monster tree releases its roots.]

Grrrrr…

The entire building shook as if it were an earthquake.

Panicking citizens tried to escape the department store, but beyond the glass doors, the roots of the tree had descended, blocking the entire passage.

“Uh, uh, uaaaaah!”

“Save me! Can someone please get rid of this?! Is there anyone outside?!”

Wealthy citizens entangled in the phenomenon screamed for help.

Honestly, I felt like doing the same. I fully understood the psychological state of the panicked citizens. Whether rich or poor, there was no business in the face of disaster.

“Leader!”

“It’s a Rift phenomenon!”

Members hurriedly gathered behind me.

Hwang Man-deuk, who had received a beating from the monster, seemed to have suffered little actual damage, but his pride appeared wounded as he wore a bitter expression.

If he hadn’t intervened, I might have taken the hit from the monster and died on the spot.

“Ah…!”

“Y-yeah. That person is here!”

The citizens who were screaming irrationally at the entrance sat down in their seats in relief when they found us gathered in one place. Especially the gazes directed at me were filled with distant joy and relief, as if meeting a great savior who would rescue them from hell.

‘Darn it.’

My chest felt tight.

They all believed in me. I was nothing more than a deceptive figure, avoiding even the effort and difficulty of standing guard in my place.

[Defeat the tree monster on the 5th floor within the time limit. If failed, the department store will collapse.]

[4th floor breakthrough (Incomplete)]

[3rd floor breakthrough (Incomplete)]

[2nd floor breakthrough (Incomplete)]

[1st floor breakthrough (Incomplete)]

Just as my trembling heart settled, a challenge update appeared in the upper right corner.

The department store seemed ready to collapse at any moment, with cracks appearing on the walls and the floor slightly shaking, making the citizens uneasy.

[Remaining time – 60:00]

[Remaining time – 59:59]

[Remaining time – 59:58]

….

…

‘1 hour.’

Simultaneously, the countdown to death began. The escalator to the 2nd floor was blocked by tree roots.

Suddenly, as if giving us a hint, accessories and cosmetics displayed in the department store began to emit a reddish glow. Some emitted a faint light, while others burst into flames with a bloody hue.

My survival instinct, reaching its peak, quickly discovered a rule based on the intensity of the light.

‘The more expensive, the brighter.’

Luxury brand displays and jewelry sections bathed in very bright light, while the cosmetics counter had a softer glow.

“Ah, Mr. Isaac. Wh-what is this…?”

The Chairman, who had greeted us in the break room, came out trembling and walked toward us.

“Do you know this name, Lee Duman?”

Lee Duman. That was the name of the monsterfied alcoholic. I had confirmed it in the creature’s information window before it disappeared into the underground, turning from an ordinary citizen to a mutated monster.

“Y-yes? Of course, but why are you asking about the former Chairman named Lee Duman…?”

“Understood. Please evacuate to a safe place.”

I immediately instructed my team to destroy several brightly shining items on the sales floor.

– Crash! –

Amidst the bizarre scene, the Chairman shouted in frustration about what we were doing. However, as the valuable items were destroyed, one by one, the tree roots blocking the way to the second floor disappeared.

Confirming this, I ordered my team to quickly destroy the brightly shining luxury items.

“Former Chairman’s is turning into monster… This is not right, no matter how unfair it may seem.”

The Rift phenomenon contaminated by the monster’s negative emotions was a phenomenon that polluted space-time. The former Chairman was probably seized by violent impulses, stabbed his chest with an unpurified magic stone, and thus turned into a monster. Rather than having the department store taken away, it seemed he chose to destroy the entire building.

That may be the reason why you can only go up to the second floor by destroying the items in the store on the first floor.

The strategy for the upper floors likely involved a form that harmed the department store.

– Crash! Quad-thud! –

With Hwang Man-deuk transforming into Werebear form, Gil-seong’s explosive bullet, and Yeo Jin-soo’s swift sword, the 1st-floor stores were thrown into chaos.

As if its Satisfied, the tree roots blocking the escalator were about one-third removed.

However, the mental state of the current Chairman was torn to shreds.

“Th-this is not good!”

Expensive brand bags, rings, necklaces, all glowing red, were torn apart. They were the assets of her own company, meant to be sold at a high price. Facing the sight of luxury items being treated as trash, she couldn’t stand the thought of useless assets in front of her if she were to die.

‘It’s a shame.’

Although my emotions were overflowing, I had to suppress them because if the department store collapsed, we would all die together. I solemnly separated the Chairman from my team.

No matter how much I explained that we needed to break expensive luxury items to open the entrance, it seemed they couldn’t comprehend it.

[Remaining time – 56:30]

‘I should do something.’

Already, 3 minutes and 30 seconds had passed. Feeling the need to do something, I grabbed a sharp sword and cut a thin necklace.

Feeling frustrated with the slow pace of the work, my emergency-minded brain came up with a much better method.

‘Let’s try this.’

I collected all the luxury items in my hands into the inventory. All I had to do was touch the items and think ‘acquire’. Then, I touched the luxury items in the inventory and pressed ‘delete’, and a [Yes/No] message appeared. Naturally, I pressed Yes, and the luxury items disappeared without a trace.

‘This works.’

As the pattern became familiar, I quickly deleted the luxury items, like playing a rhythm game with two fingers. This speed was faster than my team individually consuming magical power to work.

“Krrang.”

“Agjak agjak.”

The materialized monsters also chewed and damaged necklaces, high heels, and other items. Although the effect was minimal, the desire to assist their owners was well conveyed.

“Let’s go.”

After spending about 6 minutes on the 1st floor, the tree roots blocking the escalator opened enough for people to pass.

“Rest assured. The department store will not collapse.”

Following the rescue manual, I tried to calm down the citizens and immediately entered the 2nd floor. However, the Chairman, with venom in her eyes, seemed ready to argue. When I stared at her, she trembled and stood still.

As the Chairman of the department store or whatever, when a disaster occurred, the on-site supervision was entrusted to the hero. So, she couldn’t say anything more.

[Entered the 2nd floor.]

[2F – Children/Infant Section]

Pushing through the layered roots and ascending to the 2nd floor. A long blackout curtain-like thing was hanging at the entrance. As I lifted it, I heard sounds of people screaming somewhere.

“Ahh! Noooo!”

Beyond two stands, an employee in a department store uniform was running away, bleeding. And chasing after them were… toy dolls. There were also a few toy soldier blocks with only chopstick-sized spears.

‘Toy monsters?’

My team instinctively rushed out and defeated the toy monsters. Like the luxury items on the 1st floor, the toys also emitted a red light, but it was only in their pupils, not their entire bodies.

[Teddy bear with venomous aura has been split in half.]

[X Dragon Figure has been brutally crushed.]

The types of toys were diverse, and among them, intricately designed figures or mini supercars had a brightness in their eyes and headlights.

“Evacuate downstairs.”

“Ugh, thank you.”

– Zap! –

– Boom! –

After healing the injured employee with Seo Eun-ha’s radiant light and sending them down to the 1st floor, we diligently hunted the toy monsters.

Fortunately, there were no people on the 2nd floor, or at least VIPs and employees were not visible.

– Thunk! –

– Clang! –

Especially annoying were the toy soldiers riding mini cars and figures shooting magic or guns from a distance. Nevertheless, the average level of the monsters did not exceed 10, resulting in a one-sided battle.

‘The terrain has changed. Where is the escalator?’

Until now, I thought the 2nd floor of the department store was an easy pattern of weak enemies. However, because their numbers were unexpectedly large, it was difficult to advance even with the constant onslaught against the toy monsters.

[Remaining time – 49:10]

In an instant, five minutes had passed. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the team in smashing the contaminated toys, we finally reached the edge of the store with a long curtain.

The escalator leading to the 3rd floor was supposed to be on the other side.

– Flutter.

–

– Swoosh.

–

However, as soon as we lifted the mysterious curtain, we were left speechless.

“What is this?”

“Well, toy Land?”

In response to Seo Eun-ha’s dumbfounded question, Gil-seong replied with a trembling voice. Before us, literally, the land of toys unfolded.

Boom!

[It’s a Toy Kingdom.]

‘What’s this?’

Beyond the curtain, the ceiling seemed to be at least 30 meters high, and a fortress wall the size of a playground, like an implementation of a children’s theme park, stood tall.

In the distance, in one corner of the fortress, a medieval European-style castle was implemented in a minimal size, and inside the castle walls, there were thousands of dolls densely packed.

It seemed that not only the store but also the inventory stored in the warehouse had been contaminated and appeared.

‘Wait, isn’t it like a night here?’

Moreover, when I looked around, I realized that this place was like a night of giants. In the distance, a giant desk was visible, and on the right wall, there was a door that stretched for dozens of meters.

And the store we had passed through was under a large bed. The identity of the long curtain turned out to be nothing other than a bed. When the team noticed this fact, they were astonished.

– Thunk! –

[The queen declares absolute monarchy.]

As if explaining something, a Barbie doll wearing a royal robe appeared on the terrace of the castle and raised both arms.

Countless toys looked up at the Barbie doll, and like serving her, they lowered their heads in reverence.

From Legos and figures to various animal dolls and Gundam models, the types were diverse.

[The queen has sensed an invasion from external forces.]

– Ziiing! –

At that moment, the Barbie doll’s eyes, far away, flared up in red. The intensity of the light was incomparable to the other dolls.

– Shalalalalak.

–

‘Ugh.’

Thousands of toy soldiers simultaneously turned around. The military force felt powerful enough to be formidable.

This isn’t child’s play.

‘Just the 2nd floor, and it’s like this?’

For some reason, the 2nd floor of the department store was not just transformed; it was mostly in a state of invasion.

Invasion referred to how much energy had contaminated the space-time. It was puzzling that such invasion occurred with ordinary people turning into monsters, like Lee Duman, rather than heroes.

‘Whatever.’

We needed to conquer this Toy Kingdom and proceed to the next floor, we had to defeat the Barbie Doll Queen burning with ominous flames. The problem was that there were so many, even if we fought well, a frontal assault seemed impossible.

– Wheeeeing- –

A toy police car sounded its sirens. Simultaneously, toys that were serving as guards on the fortress wall flew over like a wave.

“There are too many!”

“Suppress!”

– Boom! Splash! –

The team pulled up their magic power and faced the army of dolls, but they were forced to retreat under the onslaught of small arrows, missiles, and bullets flying from a distance.

The toys didn’t break through the bed. We managed to crush about a hundred dolls, but to break through the queen’s forces, it seemed we would have to repeat the cycle of attack and rest for at least an hour.

Time was running out.

‘It’s not about physically breaking through. There’s definitely something. I need information.’

I first requested the support team to quickly investigate information related to the former Chairman Lee Duman. Then, I reviewed the report I had received earlier. I found out that among the items in the 2nd-floor children’s section, a Barbie doll with yellow hair was worth a whopping 300 million, and a toy castle was worth up to 500 million.

‘It’s not a special toy exhibition or anything.’

The mini castle tucked away in the corner beyond the barrier and the queen who eyed us from the terrace were these things.

At that moment, Yeo Jin-soo, who was recovering magic power, raised his sword and guarded the rear.

“Uh, there…!”